Key Stats for the Horseshoe Saddle Trail - 712
About
Starts at Horseshoe Lake campground at site 5. Enter and bear right about 20 feet in. Leads up to the Skyline Trail (PCT 2000) through a beautiful area of pools and meadows. Level until a modest climb reaching up into the saddle. A seasonal spring is available on the left near the saddle. One mile long.
This trail also has been named the “Rondy Trail” in memory of Howard Rondthaler, who was a trails supervisor in the district for many years. There is a commemorative sign partway down the trail.
Retains snow late into June.
Horseshoe Lake was not named because of its shape but because a horseshoe was found near its shore1
1Oregon Geographic Names, McArthur, Lewis.
Directions
Travel Hwy 224 thru Estacada to Ripplebrook. Continue thru Ripplebrook and immediately after crossing the river, continue straight on Forest Road 46. Travel approximately 21.5 miles on Road 46 to Forest Road 4690 – there may be a sign here indicating a turn to Olallie Lake. Turn left on Road 4690 and travel approximately 8 miles to Forest Road 4220. Turn right on Road 4220 and travel approximately 5.1 miles to the Olallie Lake Resort. At the Resort turnoff, continue straight on the 4220 road for approximately 2.5 miles to the Horseshoe Lake campground. The trail starts at site 5.
Howard M. “Rondy” Rondthaler, 1928 – 2007
“The mountains are calling and I must go. John Muir
Howard “Rondy” Rondthaler was born in
North Carolina in 1928, and moved to Oregon
in 1948 on a bet with a friend, and soon began
a career in the U.S. Forest Service. One of a
group of dedicated foresters and volunteers of
the era, Rondy approached every job eager to
improve the forest lands and trails he loved.
He believed that the natural beauty of the
Scenic Lakes District and the entire forest should
be accessible to as many people as possible. In
his tenure as Trails Supervisor for the Mt. Hood
National Forest, Rondy researched and found
historic trails, designed and built new trails,
and redesigned existing trails to make them
both more accessible and more scenic. His
work lives on in this trail and many others
throughout the region.